THE GRAMMATICAL INSTITUTE. 39

sharp little warnings in the form of foot-
notes, which imply that he seized the young
nation just in time to prevent the perpetu-
ation of vulgar errors, since these, if they
once became universal, would have com-
pelled the hereditary Webster to make
them the basis of orthoepic canons. Thus,
ax is reprobated when ask is intended;
Americans were to say wainscot, not wincJi-
cott; resin, not rozum; chimney, not chim-
Uly ; confiscate, not confisticate. Since these
warnings disappeared after a few years it
may be presumed that he regarded the im-
mediate danger as passed; but the more sul>
stantial matters of good morals came to
have greater prominence, and in addition
to the columns of classified words, which
constitute almost the sole contents of the
earliest edition, there came to be inserted
those fables and moral and industrial in-
junctions, with sly reminders of the virtue
of Washington, which have sunk into the
soft minds of generations of Americans.
There was a Federal catechism, and a good
deal of geographical knowledge regarding
counties and county towns, to be taken eco->
nomically in the form of spelling lessons.